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catherine_louise's review against another edition
3.0
i think this book needed more time from me than i had to give it - it needs a careful reader to be fully appreciated & understood
fjsteele's review against another edition
4.0
Difficult at the start, but eventually, I got into it.
transcendantalism's review against another edition
3.0
I personally did not fall in love with this book. But it is interesting that Asian-Americans are being introduced into the 2019 presidential race and I found links from this book to current times.
nuhafariha's review against another edition
3.0
I loved Chang-Rae Lee's prosaic writing style with its dense contemplations on what it means to be an immigrant in America, what it means to truly try to assimilate into a hostile culture and what the process ends up costing the immigrant. It reminded me a lot of Lahiri's The Namesake plus a little bit of political conspiracy and spy action. However, the ending was abrupt and disarming, a little too convenient.
synoptic_view's review against another edition
This novel covers an extraordinary amount of ground. It is a political thriller, a domestic drama, a multigenerational immigration story, a spy novel, a portrait of New York City, and more. So many different pieces get packed in, and they work surprisingly well together.
At its core, the novel deals with the complex thoughts about identity of a second-generation (Census definition) Korean-American named Henry Park. Henry's immigrant father owned grocery stores in New York, and their relationship provides the basis for many of Henry's thoughts about what it means to be of one culture or another. As a young adult, Henry works for a roughly sketched political/economic espionage firm that specializes in gaining the confidence of other recent American immigrants, providing further opportunity to discuss the immigrant experience. NYC plays an important role throughout--bringing different immigrant groups into contact and conflict and setting the stage for the political race that much of the plot deals with.
Finally, as the title suggests, the book also focuses on language--particularly the way that many immigrants in the story carefully polish their English to hide traces of the native language while occasionally slipping and letting accents emerge. This is reflected in the writing of the book itself. It veers from poetic lyricism to totally standard "airport fiction" to dialogue written in dialect. Like much else in the story, I wanted this choice to be elaborated on even more.
At its core, the novel deals with the complex thoughts about identity of a second-generation (Census definition) Korean-American named Henry Park. Henry's immigrant father owned grocery stores in New York, and their relationship provides the basis for many of Henry's thoughts about what it means to be of one culture or another. As a young adult, Henry works for a roughly sketched political/economic espionage firm that specializes in gaining the confidence of other recent American immigrants, providing further opportunity to discuss the immigrant experience. NYC plays an important role throughout--bringing different immigrant groups into contact and conflict and setting the stage for the political race that much of the plot deals with.
Finally, as the title suggests, the book also focuses on language--particularly the way that many immigrants in the story carefully polish their English to hide traces of the native language while occasionally slipping and letting accents emerge. This is reflected in the writing of the book itself. It veers from poetic lyricism to totally standard "airport fiction" to dialogue written in dialect. Like much else in the story, I wanted this choice to be elaborated on even more.
vemilla's review against another edition
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
adeleighpenguin's review against another edition
4.0
What an incredible feeling to have a book impact you the in the exact way and at the exact time you need it to. Maybe it's because I was listening to the Phantom Thread score during the last 80 or so pages, but I cried. I was surprised at every corner in this book and I felt so connected to Henry Park, even though our cultural experiences are nothing alike. The ending left me hopeful and passionate. Native Speaker should be added to the typical high school reading list.
“I’m not going to be one of those tortured anemic women who despite all signs believes in her micro-talent to the bitter end. It’s all too tacky and righteous, even for me. Is it possible to be resolved about not having much resolve?” God I loved Lelia.
“I’m not going to be one of those tortured anemic women who despite all signs believes in her micro-talent to the bitter end. It’s all too tacky and righteous, even for me. Is it possible to be resolved about not having much resolve?” God I loved Lelia.
smalefowles's review against another edition
4.0
I'm not sure how I managed to go so many years without actually reading this book. I've read excerpts of it on multiple occasions, but somehow none of them prepared me for the novel itself. The excerpts always depicted the novel as one centering on a father-son relationship and "the immigrant experience." That's only one facet of this complex, well-wrought gem.
It's sort of actually a spy novel, and also maybe All the King's Men in the boroughs. The plot gets a little crazy, but it's all anchored in the overtly literary prose, which spends at least equal time on feelings. All the feelings.
I'm going to have to read more Chang-rae Lee.
It's sort of actually a spy novel, and also maybe All the King's Men in the boroughs. The plot gets a little crazy, but it's all anchored in the overtly literary prose, which spends at least equal time on feelings. All the feelings.
I'm going to have to read more Chang-rae Lee.
bingo_b's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
gorgeousgirl's review against another edition
sorry i just got bored w the disaffected diaspora thing. was expecting some of the weirdness from My Year Abroad but this was v stock-standard